Many transactions involve the use documents and/or other items such as lottery tickets, receipts, tickets, checks, coupons, cards, or the like that can later be used, or redeemed for a service or item of value such as cash at a later time, or to identify a person who wants to perform a transaction. There are a number of companies that may be involved in generating and/or printing such items.
Many techniques may be available to maintain the privacy, integrity and/or authenticity of such items. For example, documents or other items may be printed with some form of identification number or the like that can be validated at the time of use or redemption. In some cases, especially where the value of the document or item such as the redemption value of a lottery ticket is high, the identification number printed on the item may also be used to verify, for example, that the redemption for that item such as a lottery ticket or coupon occurs only once. In this case, the identification number can be unique within the context or domain in which the document or item is used.
In come cases, a time limit may be established during which time the item is considered valid. For example, certain items such as lottery tickets may have a time limit for redemption after which the item may be invalid and may not be redeemable. In some cases, items such as lottery tickets may never be claimed during that time limit because they may be lost or destroyed. Such items could be maliciously recreated so that these items may be used or redeemed prior to expiration. For example, an insider or individual involved with generating or creating such documents, who has access to a database of redeemed and unredeemed tickets may recreate the lottery tickets that are about to expire and/or have not been redeemed.
In the case of a lottery ticket, where a winning ticket must be claimed within, for example, 1 year after the draw, an insider who has access to the unclaimed ticket file could be reasonably assured that if a winning ticket had not been cashed, and is about to expire in a week or so, then the ticket will probably not be cashed at all. The insider could recreate the ticket and cash it.
In another example, in a sporting event or a concert, it can be reasonably assumed that a ticket not presented sometime after the event began would probably never be presented. An insider with access to a database of tickets might create a false, duplicate ticket containing the original identification number. That ticket could be used to gain entry or could be sold to someone else who could gain entry.
In some cases, there may be no particular time limit, however the documents such as tickets may have different values, but the value is not known at the time of purchase. In this case, if an insider has access to a database of tickets and their values, the insider could, perhaps, print out the identification numbers for all high-value tickets. With that information, the insider might be able to peruse an inventory of tickets and extract only those of high value.
For example, in a ‘scratch-off’ or ‘instant’ ticket game, tickets may be printed with identification numbers and delivered to retailers where they are sold. The value of the ticket may be hidden under latex, for example. After purchasing the ticket, the player scratches the latex and, if the ticket is a winner, presents it for redemption to a retailer. The retailer may validate the ticket against a centralized database. If the ticket is validated, the player may redeem the value of the ticket. In this example, if an insider had access to the database that identifies the tickets and corresponding values, the insider may go to a retail establishment and scan through the available tickets, selecting and purchasing only those that have high value. The individual may then proceed to fraudulently redeem those tickets.
In another example, such as a coupon promotion for a store where the purchaser scratches off an area of the coupon to determine a discount amount, an insider may be able to scan the inventory of coupons and extract and use only those coupons with high value. In another example, a card such as a credit card or social security card could be used to identify a person who is performing a transaction. In these cases it is important to authenticate the card, while protecting the privacy of the item in a database so that others cannot impersonate the cardholder.
Accordingly there is a need in the art to maintain the privacy, integrity and or authenticity of documents and/or other items. For example, there is a need in the art to prevent the use of forged tickets, receipts, checks, cards, coupons, etc. There is a need to ensure, for example, that a holder of a document or a card such as a credit card is bonafide and is entitled to the value and/or services provided by the document or other item. For example, there is a need to prevent an insider from knowing the identification number of a ticket, even though the insider has access to the database that will be used for ticket redemption.